At a time when the yearly medication cost of an AIDS patient had soared to $20,000 per year, Indian drug major Cipla shocked multinational pharma firms by offering the same for less than a dollar a day per patient. However, Cipla now sees tough times ahead when HIV/AIDS patients will be forced to buy expensive drugs produced by Big Pharma once the wto regime kicks in in 2005. Dr Y.K. Hamied, CMD, Cipla, spoke to Outlook. Excerpts:
Why is Big Pharma so interested in AIDS in India?
What has been Cipla's experience in marketing its drugs internationally, given the stiff resistance from Big Pharma?
To what extent is Big Pharma dictating AIDS policies in the poor countries?
What are Cipla's concerns vis-a-vis the monopoly of Big Pharma?